ELP Activity Groups

Each class can choose up to six Activity Groups. All groups must have Cooks, Clerks, and Explorers. The Hunters, the Farmers & Gatherers , and Artisans are of course good to have, but are optional for much smaller classes. Please review the sections “On Class Size” and “Parent Officer Numbers” on the Teachers Get Ready! page. If you are interested in deviating from the required Activity Groups, please contact the ELP Manager to discuss options.

When assigning Activity Groups to students, you can let the students choose their group or you can assign them to one. Since the groups should be roughly equal in size, you may have to do some switching. Make sure that you have children assigned to groups before the first parent meeting.

The educational experience of the ELP is greatly enhanced when students actively practice traditional historic skills. Be mindful when selecting students for each Activity Group - be sure they are a good fit and can handle the responsibility of their assigned group. Do not assign all your most difficult students to the same group. It is especially important to avoid assigning aggressive children to the Hunters or Explorers Activity Groups, as this often leads to a sour experience for all involved!

You can use the Additional Resources for a link to our digital library and a list of reference books which will provide ideas for activities and skills as well as ecological information for the area. Fort Ross Visitor Center has an excellent bookstore and library.

The students should put a lot of energy into learning and writing about their area of interest and Activity Group. Through this learning process each student will have a much better idea of how people lived and interacted as a whole at this settlement. They will get a chance to learn how events of history have impacted the peoples and ecosystems of Metini / Fort Ross and beyond.

Here is a list of all the Activity Groups. Click on each group link to learn about the activities, preparation, and duties for each -

• Cooks Activity Group
• Explorers Activity Group
• Clerks Activity Group
• Hunters Activity Group
• Farmers & Gatherers Activity Group
• Artisans Activity Group

About Historical Inhabitants of Settlement Ross - Settlement Ross was a multi-ethnic community. The population was made up of Alaska Natives, Kashia Pomo, Russians, people of Mixed Heritage, Coast Miwok, Southern Pomo and more. We encourage you to learn about all the people who have interacted and intersected through the history of Metini / Fort Ross. The cultures and skills of these peoples, and the history that brought them together at this unique and spectacular place on the Sonoma Coast of California. The different jobs and skills practiced at Metini / Fort Ross are many. There have been clerks, cooks, basket weavers, farmers, gatherers, navigators, sailors, craftsmen, tree fallers, hunters, jewelry makers, blacksmiths, tanners, medicine makers, language interpreters, cowherders and more.

We also want to emphasize that the Kashia Pomo, Coast Miwok, Southern Pomo, and Alaska Native peoples are still here today. Their cultures are ancient and sophisticated, and we encourage you to learn about how they have survived and what their lives are like today.